THE RULES OF THE BOARD
Last Updated: August 30th, 2009

REGISTERING / BULLETINS

As of October 2008, having a message board account DOES NOT mean that you will receive Announcement List emails. We have moved to using a special new in-house email list. You can find that feature at http://www.depechemode.com/phplist/?p=subscribe

When you register for a forum account, you will be sent an email. That email contains a link that you MUST click in order to complete the registration process. If you do not click the link, you can not become a member. If you did not receive the email, your email program or ISP may have filtered the email to a "spam" folder. Another possibility (which happens more than you would expect) is that you typed your email address incorrectly. A hint: email addresses never start with "www.".

If you have reigstered, "clicked the link" in the email you received, and can not post, that is because ACCOUNTS ARE NOT FULLY REGISTERED UNTIL FRIDAY! It takes time to weed out all of the spam, and other maintenance relating to the board. Please be patient.

If you have an existing account, but your forum title says "My Account Is About To Be Deleted", that means that the email you have on file is incorrect. You MUST contact the admin immediately, to have the situation fixed. All accounts marked as "My Account Is About To Be Deleted" will be removed from the forum by November 2nd, 2008!

To add a signature to your profile, an avatar to your profile, or simply to edit any otehr information within your board profile, all you have to do is go to your User CP (User Control Panel): http://forums.depechemode.com/forum/usercp.php

If you lose your password, all you need to do is go to the Lost Password page: http://forums.depechemode.com/forum/login.php?do=lostpw

Once you register with a user name on the forum, that is your name for the duration of your account. You can not change your name.

Sometimes, during the registration process, your account may be rejected. The most common reasons for this are:

* Your username was your email address.
* You tried to make an account using the name of a band member.
* Your email address was not valid.
* Your username was deemed profane.
* You were previously banned, and you tried to re-join the forum.

POSTING

Why Can't I Post?

There are a few possibilities for this. When you register to the board, you are sent a confirmation email. If you do not click the link within the confirmation email, you do not complete the registration process, and therefore can not post. People who are not registered to the message board can not post. Also, if you are banned, you can not post.

What am I allowed to post?

You may post about any topic (within the appropriate area of the forum), but we ask that you refrain from the following:

* Links to copyright protected media files.
* Images. You can link to an image (as long as it does not violate the rule below), but you may not embed an image on the board.
* Personal, intrusive posts regarding the personal lives of the band, or this board's moderators.
* Rude comments directed at other board members (including the moderators).
* Spam (including unsolicited eBay ads, posts about your band, and other types of posts that fall under the acceptable definition of "spam").
* Personal chit-chat. Please remember that this is a message board with tens of thousands of users. If your posts only attract one or two people, we would ask that you move your conversations to email or instant messenger.
* Duplicate posts of existing threads. Please use the "Search" tool to search for an existing thread before posting.

Violations of any of the above may result in either a ban from the board, or your account may be permanently deleted.

Why can't I edit my posts?

Due to abuse, this feature will NEVER be turned on again. Please learn to take care when typing your posts.

How do I attach a file to my post?

Simply, you can not. Due to abuse, this feature has been diasbled.

Can I search for a thread before I post?

Not only can you, but we encourage it!

Is there censorship on this board?

The admin has censored out a few specific phrases related to the embedding of images, otherwise you may type what you wish. We ask, however, you look over the entries of "What am I allowed to post" before you post. Please use common sense. For example, if a single is due for release, and it leaks early, posting links to the leaked files will guarantee you instant removal from the board.

I am having problems with certain people when I post on your board. What should I do?

If you encounter any problems with fellow board members (rudeness, et cetera), alert a moderator immediately! Please be sure to provide a link to the post in question.

I read a news item on your forum. Why isn't it also on your news page?

We allow members to post speculative (rumor) posts. We will not confirm or deny these posts, but the easiest way to tell if the posts are true is to look at our main depechemode.com news page. If you don't see the "news" there, it is not accurate news.

GENERAL

* This message board is English only. Since the moderators of the board have enough of a problem with the English language, there is no way they can moderate in other languages. All non-English posts will be deleted. This is not to offend any non-English speaking people, but we can not moderate what we can not read. This includes member titles, and signature files!

* You may only have one account on the message board. People found to have multiple accounts will have all of their accounts removed.

* If you do not choose a custom message board title, the forum will create one for you automatically, based on your number of posts:

ignoring the F.A.Q. (under 20 posts)
sort of read the F.A.Q. (20-39 posts)
Read The F.A.Q, but ignoring it (40-59 posts)
DMMB Member (60+ posts)
DMMB Veteran (500+ posts)
DMMB Survivor (1000+ posts)
DMMB Elder (3000+ posts)
I need a life (4000+ posts)
I have no "real life" friends (5000+ posts)

* Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder are not in the band anymore. No matter how many times you post about them, they are not coming back. Both have moved on to other projects. Let it go.

* If a thread passes 250 posts, we will close the thread, and encourage you to create a "part 2" type thread. Threads over 250 posts tax the web server. Posts can now be longer than 250 posts, but huge threads may still get closed.

* Along with the "What am I allowed to post" F.A.Q. listing, there are a few other ways to guarantee that you will have a short stay on this forum. These include:

Highjacking threads

The posting of any "(band member) has a cute (body part)" type topics will get you put in "Time Out". Control your hormones.

Posting lyrics from a DM song, and then below that (in the same post) talking about your cat / your day / the weather / et cetera. Posting DM lyrics does not make the topic DM related! Stay on topic!

Not keeping your hormones in check! Most of you are 30 years old, or older. Please try to act like it.

Please don't post "Hi, I'm new to the forum" topics on the message board. We have 30,000+ members, and every new person posting "Hi, I'm new" tends to annoy the rest of the board members. If you are hesitant in posting, just hang back and wait to jump into a conversation that feels good to you. If you want to post immediately, start a DM related post, or reply to an existing one.

Do not offer mp3's, or video files, of copyright DM releases, or copyright materials of other bands. If you ripped something from an official CD, or it is from an official home video release, do not offer it. Note the use of the word "official". Sheet music scans, tab files and midi files also falls under copyright.

Don't try to sell bootleg materials on the board. Any such posts made will be deleted, and the account of the poster will be deleted. You can, however, trade materials. Be cautious when offering trades, however. You are posting on a board with thousands of people. You might get more emails than you desire. This also applies to posting links to live mp3 files (and fan mixes of released music). Think before you post. Again, selling is bad. Trading is good.

If your entire intention is simply to annoy other people, please go somewhere else.

This message board was created at the request of Andrew Fletcher (Fletch), who wanted fans to have a reliable location to communicate with each other. Please respect the board, and post responsibly. This board is for fans. We do not want a few people ruining it for everyone.

These are the rules. Please follow them. Thank you!